The body of Bartica boat captain Daniel Colinet, who fell overboard near the mining community after being struck by lightning on Monday afternoon, was found this morning, not far from where the incident occurred.
The man’s sister, Vera Colinet told this newspaper this morning that search teams which had returned to combing the waters outside Batavia, the community close to where the accident occurred as well as other areas along the Essequibo River, had found her brother.
She said the regional authorities and the police had been leading the search for the man who was feared dead after he was struck by a lightning bolt as he ferried students from Bartica to riverain communities in the area.
Meantime, 13-year old Marco Klass, the student who was burnt and shocked during the incident on Monday was receiving treatment for injuries he sustained at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). The young man’s relatives related yesterday that the teen was passing blood, but that his condition was listed as stable.
Colinet, 46, of West Indian Housing Scheme, in Bartica, Cuyuni/Mazaruni, was operating a speedboat laden with school children in vicinity of the Cuyuni River mouth around 3.30 pm on Monday when he was struck by lightning.
The man grabbed one of the children, who has been identified as Klass and they both fell overboard. Colinet could not be located afterward. However, the child managed to swim to the boat and he was pulled to safety by the others. He was subsequently taken to the Bartica Hospital for treatment and was subsequently transferred to the GPH.
According to reports, the boat Miss Emma was nearing the community of Batavia when the incident occurred.
Colinet’s sister told Stabroek News that her brother picked up students from various communities outside Bartica who travel to school at the mining community each school morning. According to the woman, her brother, who had no children, left Bartica in the pouring rain while lightning and thunder were prevalent at the time.
Colinet had been working with the regional administration for years and while his sister was unsure as regards whether he knew how to swim, she felt that the lightning must have injured him severely. The man’s burnt life jacket was found floating in the water soon after the incident.
